Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T15:02:40.306Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Does Civic Education Foster Civic Duty? A Systematic Cross-Country Analysis of the Effect of Three Forms of Civic Education on the Sense of Civic Duty to Vote

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2020

Fernando Feitosa Open the ORCID record for Fernando Feitosa [Opens in a new window]
Fernando Feitosa*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Montreal, 3150 Jean-Brillant St., C- 3123, Montreal, H3T 1N8
*
*Corresponding author. Email: f.feitosa.ribeiro@umontreal.ca
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article investigates if civic education can spur a sense of duty to vote and, in this way, help to augment the number of voters and diminish inequality in participation. I perform a systematic cross-country analysis of the link between different forms of civic education and civic duty, using the data from the 2016 International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) that include 23 countries. The results show that three key civic education mechanisms—civics courses, active learning strategies and open classroom environment—exert an influence on civic duty but that civics courses have the strongest effect. Country-level analyses confirm that civics courses are more influential on civic duty than the other types of civic education. This evidence elucidates which channels of school socialization may help to develop a sense of duty in adolescents, as well as the relative effect of each mechanism.

Résumé

Résumé

Le présent article examine si l'éducation civique peut stimuler le sens du devoir de voter et contribuer ainsi à augmenter le nombre d'électeurs, tout en réduisant l'inégalité de la participation. Sur le plan méthodologique, il procède à une analyse transnationale systématique du lien entre les différentes formes d'éducation civique et le devoir civique, en utilisant les données de l'Étude internationale sur l'éducation civique et citoyenne (ICCS) de 2016, qui porte sur 23 pays. Elle montre que trois mécanismes clés de l'éducation civique, à savoir les cours d'instruction civique, les stratégies d'apprentissage actif et l'environnement ouvert de la salle de classe exercent tous une influence sur le devoir civique, mais que les cours d'instruction civique ont l'effet le plus important. Les analyses par pays confirment que les cours d'éducation civique ont une plus grande influence sur le devoir civique que les autres types d'éducation civique. En fournissant ces données probantes, cet article élucide les canaux de socialisation scolaire susceptibles d'aider à développer le sens du devoir chez les adolescents, ainsi que l'effet relatif de chaque mécanisme.

Keywords

civic duty to votecivic educationcivics coursesactive learning strategiesopen classroom climatecross-country analysisdevoir civique de voteréducation civiquecours d’éducation civiquestratégies d’apprentissage interactivesambiance de classe ouverteanalyse transnationale
Type
Research Article/Étude originale
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 53 , Issue 4 , December 2020 , pp. 887 - 901
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Beimers, David. 2016. “Legislative Advocacy Days: Building Political Self-Efficacy in Social Work Students.” Journal of Policy Practice 15 (4): 269–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blais, André. 2000. To Vote or Not to Vote? The Merits and Limits of Rational Choice Theory. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blais, André and Galais, Carol. 2016. “Measuring the Civic Duty to Vote: A Proposal.” Electoral Studies 41: 60–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blais, André, Young, Robert and Lapp, Miriam. 2000. “The Calculus of Voting: An Empirical Test.” European Journal of Political Research 37 (2): 181–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bolzendahl, Catherine and Coffé, Hilda. 2013. “Are ‘Good’ Citizens ‘Good’ Participants? Testing Citizenship Norms and Political Participation across 25 Nations.” Political Studies 61 (1): 45–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1977. “Cultural Reproduction and Social Reproduction.” In Power and Ideology in Education, ed. Karabel, Jerome and Halsey, A. H.. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Bowler, Shaun and Donovan, Todd. 2013. “Civic Duty and Turnout in the UK Referendum on AV: What Shapes the Duty to Vote?” Electoral Studies 32 (2): 265–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burtonwood, Neil. 2003. “Social Cohesion, Autonomy and the Liberal Defence of Faith Schools.” Journal of Philosophy of Education 37 (3): 415–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, Angus, Converse, Philip E., Miller, Warren E. and Stokes, Donald E.. 1960. The American Voter. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Carreras, Miguel. 2018. “Why No Gender Gap in Electoral Participation? A Civic Duty Explanation.” Electoral Studies 52: 36–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, Harold D., Sanders, David, Stewart, Marianne C. and Whiteley, Paul. 2004. Political Choice in Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dalton, Russell J. 2008. “Citizen Norms and the Expansion of Political Participation.” Political Studies 56: 76–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dassonneville, Ruth and Hooghe, Marc. 2017. “Voter Turnout Decline and Stratification: Quasi-experimental and Comparative Evidence of a Growing Educational Gap.” Politics 37 (2): 184–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dassonneville, Ruth, Quintelier, Ellen, Hooghe, Marc and Claes, Ellen. 2012. “The Relation between Civic Education and Political Attitudes and Behavior: A Two-Year Panel Study among Belgian Late Adolescents.” Applied Developmental Science 16 (3): 140–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dennis, Jack. 1968. “Major Problems of Political Socialization Research.” Midwest Journal of Political Science 12: 85–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fahmy, Eldin. 2006. Young Citizens: Young People's Involvement in Politics and Decision Making. Aldershot: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Feitosa, Fernando and Galais, Carol. 2020. “How Stable Is the Sense of Civic Duty to Vote? A Panel Study on the Individual-Level Stability of the Attitude.” International Journal of Public Opinion Research 32 (2): 344–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finkel, Steven E. and Ernst, Howard R.. 2005. “Civic Education in Post-apartheid South Africa: Alternative Paths to the Development of Political Knowledge and Democratic Values.” Political Psychology 26 (3): 333–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finkel, Steven E. and Smith, Amy Erica. 2011. “Civic Education, Political Discussion, and the Social Transmission of Democratic Knowledge and Values in a New Democracy: Kenya 2002.” American Journal of Political Science 55 (2): 417–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flanagan, Constance and Stout, Michael. 2010. “Developmental Patterns of Social Trust between Early and Late Adolescence: Age and School Climate Effects.” Journal of Research on Adolescence 20 (3): 748–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Flanagan, Constance A., Bowes, Jennifer M., Jonsson, Britta, Csapo, Beno and Sheblanova, Elena. 1998. “Ties That Bind: Correlates of Adolescents’ Civic Commitments in Seven Countries.” Journal of Social Issues 54 (3): 457–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freedom House. 2020. “Global Freedom Scores.” https://freedomhouse.org/countries/freedom-world/scores (August 12, 2020).Google Scholar
Galais, Carol. 2018. “How to Make Dutiful Citizens and Influence Turnout: The Effects of Family and School Dynamics on the Duty to Vote.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 51 (3): 599–617.Google Scholar
Galais, Carol and Blais, André. 2017. “Duty to Vote and Political Support in Asia”. International Journal of Public Opinion Research 29 (4): 631–656.Google Scholar
Ganzeboom, Harry B. G., de Graaf, Paul M. and Treiman, Donald J.. 1992. “A Standard International Socio-economic Index of Occupational Status.” Social Science Research 21 (1): 1–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greene, Jay P. 2000. “Review of Civic Education: What Makes Students Learn.” Social Science Quarterly 81: 696–97.Google Scholar
Hart, Daniel, Donnelly, Thomas M., Youniss, James and Atkins, Robert. 2007. “High School Community Service as a Predictor of Adult Voting and Volunteering.” American Educational Research Journal 44 (1): 197–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hooghe, Marc and Stolle, Dietlind. 2004. “Good Girls Go to the Polling Booth, Bad Boys Go Everywhere: Gender Differences in Anticipated Political Participation among American Fourteen-Year-Olds.” Women & Politics 26 (3): 1–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huerta, Juan Carlos and Jozwiak, Joseph. 2008. “Developing Civic Engagement in General Education Political Science.” Journal of Political Science Education 4 (1): 42–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. 2016. International Civic and Citizenship Education Study, 2016 [dataset]. October 24, 2018 version. www.icpsr.umich.edu. doi: 10.3886/ICPSR37147.v1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahne, Joseph E. and Sporte, Susan E.. 2008. “Developing Citizens: The Impact of Civic Learning Opportunities on Students’ Commitment to Civic Participation.” American Educational Research Journal 45: 738–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klemmensen, Robert, Hatemi, Peter K., Hobolt, Sara Binzer, Petersen, Inge, Skytthe, Axel and Nørgaard, Asbjørn S.. 2012. “The Genetics of Political Participation, Civic Duty, and Political Efficacy across Cultures: Denmark and the United States.” Journal of Theoretical Politics 24 (3): 409–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larcinese, Valentino, Snyder, James M. and Testa, Cecilia. 2013. “Testing Models of Distributive Politics Using Exit Polls to Measure Voters’ Preferences and Partisanship.” British Journal of Political Science 43 (4): 845–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Macaluso, Theodore F. and Wanat, John. 1979. “Voting Turnout and Religiosity.” Polity 12: 158–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacMullen, Ian. 2004. “Education for Autonomy: The Role of Religious Elementary Schools.” Journal of Philosophy of Education 38 (4): 601–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marien, Sofie, Hooghe, Marc and Quintelier, Ellen. 2010. “Inequalities in Non-institutionalized Forms of Political Participation: A Multi-level Analysis of 25 Countries.” Political Studies 58 (1): 187–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, Aaron J. 2012. Young People and Politics: Political Engagement in the Anglo-American Democracies. New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milner, Henry. 2010. The Internet Generation: Engaged Citizens or Political Dropouts? Medford: Tufts University Press.Google Scholar
Mosher, Ralph L., Kenny, Robert A. Jr. and Garrod, Andrew. 1994. Preparing for Citizenship. Teaching Youth to Live Democratically. Westport: Praeger.Google Scholar
Nadeau, Richard, Niemi, Richard G. and Amato, Timothy. 1995. “Emotions, Issue Importance, and Political Learning.” American Journal of Political Science 39 (3): 558–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neundorf, Anja, Niemi, Richard G. and Smets, Kaat. 2016. “The Compensation Effect of Civic Education on Political Engagement: How Civics Classes Make Up for Missing Parental Socialization.” Political Behavior 38 (4): 921–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Page, Benjamin I. and Shapiro, Robert Y.. 2010. The Rational Public: Fifty Years of Trends in Americans’ Policy Preferences. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Pasek, Josh, Feldman, Lauren, Romer, Daniel and Jamieson, Kathleen Hall. 2008. “Schools as Incubators of Democratic Participation: Building Long-Term Political Efficacy with Civic Education.” Applied Development Science 12 (1): 26–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pole, Jason D. and Bondy, Susan J.. 2010. “Control Variables.” In Encyclopedia of Research Design, ed. Salkind, Neil J.. Thousand Oaks: Sage.Google Scholar
Riker, William H. and Ordeshook, Peter C.. 1968. “A Theory of the Calculus of Voting.” American Political Science Review 62 (1): 25–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schleicher, Andreas. 2018. “PISA 2018: Insights and Interpretations.” OECD. https://www.oecd.org/pisa/PISA%202018%20Insights%20and%20Interpretations%20FINAL%20PDF.pdf (June 12, 2020).Google Scholar
Simmons, James R. and Lilly, Bryan. 2010. “The University and Student Political Engagement.” PS: Political Science and Politics 43 (2): 347–49.Google Scholar
Smets, Kaat and van Ham, Carolien. 2013. “The Embarrassment of Riches? A Meta-analysis of Individual-Level Research on Voter Turnout.” Electoral Studies 32 (2): 344–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stadelmann-Steffen, Isabelle and Sulzer, Linda. 2018. “Just Another Brick in the Wall? The Relationship between Classroom-based Political Education and the Political Interest of Young Adults in Switzerland.” Journal of Youth Studies 21 (4): 550–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torney-Purta, Judith, Lehmann, Rainer, Oswald, Hans and Schulz, Wolfram. 2001. Citizenship and Education in Twenty-Eight Countries: Civic Knowledge and Engagement at Age Fourteen. Amsterdam: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement.Google Scholar
Turner, Charles C. 2014. “Civic Engagement in the Capstone: The ‘State of the Community’ Event.” PS: Political Science & Politics 47 (2): 497–501.Google Scholar
Weinschenk, Aaron C. 2014. “Personality Traits and the Sense of Civic Duty.” American Politics Research 42 (1): 90–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Feitosa supplementary material

Appendices

Download Feitosa supplementary material(File)
File 174.6 KB